The
World Trade Center Horror - September 11, 2001Photographs
and text by Frank X. Didik

Notice
on publication rights: When I wrote the information and shot the
photographs on September 11 and the following few days, I did not
have any intention of commercializing this tragedy and what I saw.
Many media companies and publishers have pointed out that this is a
unique historic archive and that by publication, it serves as a
tribute and memorial to this tragedy. For this reason, requests for
publication of any photographs or text will be considered on a case
by case basis. Altogether, I shot about 1,000 digital 1 megapixel
photographs on September 11 through September 28, 2001. In addition,
high quality, night photographs of the light memorial are available.
Thumb nail images of some of the photographs are or will be available
for review at: http://www.didik.com/NYCinPictures
For details on publication rights and terms, please send an email to fdidik@didik.com.
Please note that I strictly forbid the publication of any of
my photographs that may contain graphic gore. I want to preserve the
proper memory for those who suffered and their families. Between
March and July, 2001, I photographed every building in Manhattan
south of 72 Street including the entire area around the former World
Trade Center. These photographs (covering the area prior to the World
Trade Center disaster) are also available for publication. For this
you may wish to log onto http://www.NYCinPictures.com
or http://www.NEWS1.net. Thank you A
note regarding "conspiracy theories" or "alternative
view" theories.

Words
can not describe how terrible I feel about the destruction of the
twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the horrific loss thousands
of lives and the enormous number of injured. I,
as probably all New Yorkers and Americans, was stunned upon learning
of the destruction of our great landmark. Since I live right next to
the Manhattan Bridge, and can see the WTC from next to my building,
I immediately walked over the Brooklyn Bridge
to see if could be of any assistance. Below
are some of the photographs and video images that I took between 10:15AM
till 8:45PM. Many photographs were taken with a non-digital camera,
using a 600mm lens and have yet to be processed. The second World
Trade Center tower had just collapsed. The first photographs were
taken in Brooklyn, at the approach of the Brooklyn Bridge. I then
walked over the bridge to City Hall. Police and emergency personnel
were everywhere. Military jets were circling the city. Many, if not
most people, were covered with a fine and light weight beige dust.
Absolutely every person was very solemn. Police were extremely
polite. Everyone was in a state of shock. Scroll down to bottom of
page to read an additional account of events of this day.

Click
on photographs to enlarge.

A horrifying view of the NYC skyline from a grassy
approach to the Brooklyn Bridge missing the two twin Towers of the
World Trade Center. About 10:15AM

A view of Manhattan from the walk way over the
Brooklyn Bridge.

A thick, eye irritating, choking smoke engulfed most
of lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn Heights.

One Center Street Building shown from the Brooklyn
Bridge. Fire departments from outside of New York City joining in the rescue.

City Hall, to the right of the photograph.

A very thick coat of a white/beige, light weight,
gritty soot covered the entire lower Manhattan. It ranged from a thin
film to over 6" thick.

An emergency vehicle rushes past City Hall going over
the Brooklyn Bridge.

A US Army liaison officer in front of City Hall,
surrounded by several ranking police officers (not visible). I over
heard him talking on the telephone saying "general, we need full
logistical support, everything..."

The only business open was the bar Puffy's Tavern on
the corner of Harrison and Hudson Street, that was packed with local
workers, in a state of shock, looking at a television set.

The bar was so crowded that people were outside
looking at the TV set.

Looking downtown on Hudson Street.

Looking south from the 29th floor of 40 HarrisonStreet, three blocks north of the former trade center.

7 World Trade Center, at about 2:30PM.

7 World Trade Center on fire

The very large, covered pedestrian foot bridge, over
the West Side Highway had collapsed onto the highway as a result of
being hit by debris from one of the Twin Towers.

In addition to the collapsed foot bridge, I could
observe many, many destroyed fire trucks and emergency vehicles.
These are visible in the original, high resolution photographs.

These photographs were taken from the roof of 40
Harrison Street (39 floors high). The roof was deserted.

The scene on the street of Greenwich Street, 4 blocks
north of the WTC.

Arrow points to 7 World Trade Center on fire at the base.

A few moments later, the building collapsed. The plume
of smoke quickly went up Greenwich Street and I was forced to race
indoors. (29 floors above street level). SEE BELOW for enlargements.

As some of the smoke clears at 7 WTC, about 1.5
minutes after building collapsed.

Smoke rising from collapsed 7 WTC, covering the
Woolworth Building.

All subways and roads were closed out and into
Manhattan, except for emergency vehicles. The only way out was by
foot over the Manhattan Bridge. about 7:50PM

Smoke rising over the NYC Skyline.

A tragic view of Manhattan showing the Brooklyn Bridge
and for the first time since 1976, without the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center. Tears formed in my eyes upon seeing this tragedy.

The thought that perhaps thousands of people were
buried under the ruble and were dying or dead is just too much to bear.

Check points were setupat the entrances of all bridges and tunnels into
Manhattan. The Manhattan Bridge entrance is shown in this case (about 8:45PM).

LEFT: 7 World Trade Center collapsing. The smoke cloud
shown here is rushing north on Greenwich street. Debris, as large as
1 foot (30cm), were thrown as far north as Chambers Street and
beyond. As far as I know, no one was injured or killed in the
collapse of this 47 story building, as it had been evacuated several
hours earlier.

Some images of how this
remarkable building appeared just a little while ago.

Note:
The text above and below was written as soon as I returned home about
9:00PM on September 11, 2001. I wrote this, without rereading and
without checking for grammar or spelling and by 10:30pm, I had
uploaded this page, photo and text to this site. For historic
authenticity and accuracy, I have not changed or added anything,
except for this note and a few "notices", which are clearly marked.

I live in an area of Brooklyn, just
over the Manhattan Bridge, known as DUMBO. My building is only a few
feet from the main entrance of the Bridge. I have a view of the World
Trade Center just a few feet from my building. I am a late night
person and as such, I normally get up around 10:30-11:00AM. This
morning, starting around 9:00AM, I started to hear fire engine after
fire engine roaring past my house and over the Manhattan Bridge. At
first I didn't take real notice, but after a while, I decided to
check out, what was wrong. I turned on my television, which had been
set to channel 13. I could not get a signal, so I kept going down the
channels until I hit Channel 2. At that very moment, there was a
picture a building on fire and then, a couple of seconds later, the
announcer said "this is the remaining World Trade Center
Tower". Instantly, I was filled with emotion and I was in a
state of disbelief and at the same time, felt complete grief. I have
to admit that tears formed in my eyes. I could not imagine New York
City without the twin Towers, at the same time, I realized and was
devistated by the thought that hundreds, if not thousands of people
had either perished or were trapped, just a short distance from where
I was staying. I immediately ran out of the building and headed to
Manhattan to see if I could be of any assistance. To my entire street
was surrounded by police, fire and other emergency vehicles, going to
Manhattan. A few moments later, I heard that the second tower had
collapsed. I was stunned, and I am still stunned. At about the same
time, hundreds and hundreds of people started streaming over the
Brooklyn Bridge (two blocks from the entrance of the Manhattan
Bridge). I then walked across the bridge taking these and other
photographs. I was stunned by what I saw. The Brooklyn Bridge ends in
front of City Hall. The state of City Hall was very somber. Every
police officer was extremely polite. Everyone, including myself, was
in a state of shock. The entire area was coated by a film of fine
dust and ash. Thick, dark smoke was everywhere. I, as well as
everyone else, including the press, was not allowed to go south in
the direction of the World Trade Center, so I walked west, hoping to
catch a glimpse of what was happening. I walked west to Hudson
Street, were, normally, one could easily see the Trade Center, only
two blocks south. Nothing was visible except thick, thick smoke. I
was directed by the police to travel north, where I went to Harrison
Street, about 4 blocks north of the center. I quickly discovered that
after the initial attack on the first Trade Center Tower, a huge
number of rescue vehicles and personnel had gone to and entered the
building to assist the injured. When this building collapsed,
apparently, many, if not most were trapped or killed. Much of the
rescue equipment was damaged or destroyed. This was confirmed to me,
to a degree, after I went to the roof of 40 Harrison Street (39
floors) and saw that emergency vehicles, that had been as far away as
2 blocks from the Trade Center, seems to have been destroyed. At the
same time, I noticed that the eighth and ninth (?) floors of 7 World
Trade Center (49 floors), were on fire. Otherwise, 7 World Trade
Center appeared to be, from my norther vantage point, in good
condition. What I later discovered was that the southern side of the
building had sustained major damage and was in critical condition.
About 1.5 hours later, this building also collapsed. The noise of the
collapsing building was not as loud as one might imagine. It sounded
like a massive thud. As loud, or perhaps louder, were the screams of
hundreds of people who witnessed the collapse from street level, far
below my vantage point, now on a terrace on the 29 floor of 40
Harrison Street. Upon collapsing, a huge, huge plume of smoke,
resembling an ocean tidal wave rushed up Greenwich Street. The owner
of the apartment that I had been at saw the on rushing plume and felt
that it may contain a ball of fire or at least, be of a choking
density. We ran back inside and closed the glass door. Within 2
minutes, the immediate danger had passed and we went back outside and
saw a massive cloud of smoke, small debris strewn along Greenwich
Street and two relatively small fires on the street that were quickly
put out. I believe that few, if any people were injured in this
collapse since most, if not all the people had been evacuated from
this building prior to its collapse. I had been told that rather
little rescue work had been done as of 5:00PM in the center the
disaster zone. Indeed, from the top of 40 Harrison Street, I could
see little direct work being done and it seems that no attempt had
been made to save 7 World Trade Center. Most of the saved victims
seem to have been on the peripheral of the disaster center. I will
speculate that the reason for this is the on going fires at the site
and the fact that a number of rescue personnel have perished. I
presume that victims remain trapped beneath the rubble. A friend of
mine lives at 310 Greenwich Street, on the 23 floor. He had had a
clear view of the former World Trade Center. After the first plane
hit this building, he saw 13 people jump to their deaths to escape
the enormous heat (which is now estimated to have been 1500 degrees
Fahrenheit). In one case, a couple kissed, held hands and jumped
together from about the 80th floor. Another friend of mine had
visited her clients on the 102 floor of the first building which
collapsed. She is deeply concerned about their fate. I, as most New
Yorkers, have been in the World Trade Center, many, many times. It is
truly hard to imagine that they no longer exist. A friend of mine,
who imigrated to the USA from Lithuania, was fascinated by the
enourmous size of the World Trade Center and used to affectionatley
call the two towers as the "Twins". This is a tragedy of
huge and horrible proportions.

A couple of other observations.
Immediately after the collapse of the twin towers, my cell phone did
not function and all broadcast televisions stations, with the
exception of Channel 25 and Channel 2 (CBS) ceased to function. ABC,
which normally broadcasts on Channel 7, in New York City, started to
broadcast on Channel 25, which is owned by New York City. I believe
that these two stations have transmitters on top of the Empire State
Building, rather than on top of the Trade Center, as the other
stations had had. Cable TV was not effected. By noon, my cell phone
was working. Electricity was available in all of Manhattan, at first,
but by 3:00PM, the electricity had been cut off in certain areas
around the Trade Center. By 7:00PM, telephone service to lower
Manhattan seems to have been disrupted. All bridges and Tunnels into
Manhattan have been restricted to emergency use only and for out
going pedestrian traffic only. Road blocks have been set up on both
sides of all bridge and tunnel entrances. As of 11:00PM, there is a
total curfew in Manhattan for all areas south of 14 Street, from the
East River to the Hudson River. Anyone caught out after 12:00AM, will
be arrested, according to Mayor Giuliani, and charged with a class B
misdemeanor. Tomorrow, all of Manhattan will be closed to vehicle
traffic and all of Manhattan, south of 14 Street will be closed to
non-residents of that area. The stock exchange and other facilities
are closed. All airline flights in the USA have been grounded.
Besides, and far less important, than the terrible human toll, there
is also the economic loss. So many companies had important offices in
the former World Trade Center. Even if backups exist of important
documents, one has to wonder, who will be able to use them. Before
this disaster, the World Trade Center had 50,000 highly educated,
skilled workers as well as an estimated 70,000 visitors each day. ---Frank
X. Didik, 9:00PM, September 11, 2001

COPYRIGHT
VIOLATIONS September 15, 2007: Recently, it has come to
my attention that several conspiracy theory or "alternative
view" websites and publications, without my permission and in
complete violation of my copyright, are using my photographs
illegally on their sites or printed books or pamphlets. In some
cases, these sites have implied that I have given my permission to
use my photographs either on their site or in their publication. This
is absolutely not the case. I have never given my permission to use
these photographs or any other photograph, in any "alternative
view" publication or book. For example, the English book,
"9/11 revealed: challenging the facts behind the War on
Terror" used my photographs (which are registered in the United
States Copyright Office), without my permission and without ever
contacting me, even though my name and contact information is printed
right on the photographs! Had the authors of this book Ian Henshall
or Rowland Morgan or, the publisher Constable & Robinson, LTD
contacted me and used the full sized images, rather than just the
thumbnail which appears on this site, they would have had a much
better understanding of what they were seeing. Copyright
violation issues are being dealt with, one by one.